Multi-subscriber identity module (SIM) wireless communication devices have become increasing popular because of their flexibility in service options and other features. One type of multi-SIM wireless communication device, a multi-SIM multi-standby (MSMS) device, enables multiple SIMs to be in idle mode waiting to begin communications, but only allows one SIM at a time to participate in an active communication due to sharing of a single radio frequency (RF) resource (e.g., transceiver). Other multi-SIM devices may extend this capability to more than two SIMs, and may be configured with any number of SIMs greater than two (i.e., multi-SIM multi-standby wireless devices).
The SIM stores the necessary provisioning data that allows a wireless communication device to communicate with a wireless communications network. A SIM may be physical memory devices in form of a small smart card, such as a universal integrated circuit card (UICC). Multi-SIM wireless communication device may have two or more ports for receiving multiple physical SIMs. Additionally, a virtual SIM (VSIM) may be implemented as an application stored in memory on the wireless communication device. Similar to physical SIMs, a VSIM application may provide a provisioning profile (referred to herein as a “SIM profile”) enabling access to a wireless communication network, including the data, authentication algorithms, cryptographic keys, and other information that enables a subscription to a network. VSIM applications may enable multiple subscription options on a wireless communication device.